You’ve heard the phrase, “Go with God.”
In this series of posts I’m trying to unpack what the Bible describes that to look like.
In the previous post, I opened the door to Galatians 2:20… let’s walk on through today to try to understand what it means.
Notice what it says is fundamentally true – of you and of Jesus.
1. YOU have been crucified, right alongside Jesus
There are some very natural questions that arise from such a statement…
How can that be? You weren’t even alive when Jesus was crucified. Nevertheless, God (for whom nothing is impossible – Luke 18:27) says it is true.
- So somehow, on a fundamental, spiritual level, when you trusted in Jesus Christ, He took you back in time to the cross, and killed you there.
- Never forget the cross. It’s where Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sin… and it’s also where YOU, the sinner died.
But you are still living, how can it be that you died?
- Paul says it’s a certain part of you that died… your “old self.” Look how he describes it in Romans chapter 6, verse 6:
in might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
The old, sinful sinner that was you, is now dead. You do not have to be enslaved to the power of sin anymore.
2. The life you are now living is to be lived by Jesus
What if you didn’t have to be “on the hook” for making the right choices in the tough, dreadful, impossible things of life?
Things like:
- An irritating boss
- A nosey neighbor
- A hurtful spouse
- A handicap
- A financial shortage
- A threatening medical condition
What if Jesus would step in and take your place, offering to make the call on all of those things?
THAT IS THE REALITY OF WHAT IS AVAILABLE FOR YOU (and your children).
Jesus DOES live in you, to live His life through you.
- So when the tough decision needs to be made, you need to know how to let Him make it.
- When the hurtful words come, you need to know how to draw on His strength to handle it.
And how do you do that?
3. You now live by faith in the Son of God
Faith is kind of a nebulous term… hard to get a handle on sometimes.
But think of it as trust, reliance, dependence on what God has said is true.
Let’s consider a practical situation:
How do you live by faith in the Son of God in this situation?
- You believe that Jesus is really living in you (that’s faith in what God has said, isn’t it?).
- You rely on Him to give you wisdom, strength, discernment, sensitivity… whatever is needed for the situation (that is faith in Him personally, isn’t it?).
- You open your heart and mind to receive instructions from Him regarding what He wants to do (through you) in this situation (that is faith in Him personally also, isn’t it?).
- HERE’S THE HARD PART: You ACT according to what He’s leading you to do.
For some Christians, especially those who are very “word-of-God centered” (which should be all of us), that seems a bit too mystical, too ambiguous. How can you really KNOW that it’s Jesus guiding you in that situation rather than your own emotion or desires?
I’m glad you asked my word-of-God-centered bretheren!
You know by judging what you believe the LORD to be telling you according TO the word of God.
Jesus would never instruct you to contradict or go against what He’s already revealed in His word.
It’s HIS word after all, revealing HIS will for human relationships, life, the world… everything.
So we should always, always, ALWAYS utilize the word of God as our gauge of what is truly from the LORD.
Back to the purpose of introducing this topic: YOUR KIDS
What would your children’s lives be like, years from now, if they were able to learn and apply this truth beginning now?
It’s a question worth asking… and one I’ll tackle in a future post.
What PRACTICAL difference does it make to you that Christ truly lives in you? Share below!
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